The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for collecting fluids during surgical procedures; and more particularly relates to such methods and apparatus particularly adapted for surgeries on a patient's joint.
While the inventive fluid collection methods and apparatus can be used with many forms of orthopedic surgery, the present disclosure primarily addresses the use of such methods and apparatus in an example application that can particularly benefit from the teachings herein, surgery on the knee, of which one common example is arthroscopic surgery on the knee.
As of the present time, many surgeries on joints are performed arthroscopically. The most common joints subject to such surgery include the knee, elbow, shoulder wrist, foot, ankle and hip. In such surgeries, typically an arthroscope is inserted into the joint through one small incision, and surgical instruments are inserted through a second incision. In most cases, an optic fluid is employed to continuously flush the joint while it is being examined and operated upon. The fluid used in such surgery must exit the body, and typically exits from one of the incisions made to conduct the surgery. It then drips or flows down the exterior of the joint, where it must be collected in order to maintain a clean, sanitary, and functioning surgical area.
To this end, various arthroscopy fluid pouches have been developed wherein the fluid drips or flows into the pouch from the joint, and the fluid is then suctioned from the bottom of the pouch through an exit port or nipple connected to a hose which in turn is connection to a suction pump. In many cases, these arthroscopy fluid pouches are integrated with a surgical drape that, in conjunction with an integrated fluid pouch, provides a fluid barrier around the joint and a collection area for the fluids.
Many forms of these pouches have been developed over the years to address the difficulties of such fluid collection during surgery, but these conventional arthroscopy fluid pouches still suffer from one or more deficiencies in actual use. One common problem with such pouches in knee surgery, for example, is that they inhibit movement of the limb during the surgery. Another problem of many of these pouches is that they can get pinched, folded, or re-shaped during surgery so that they less efficiently perform their fluid collection function, and can permit fluid to spill over the top perimeters of such pouches and create messy, or unsanitary, or otherwise undesirable conditions for the surgery. Another problem found with some prior art fluid collection pouches intended for use in surgery on the knee is that they are designed for use, or are more efficacious for use, when a patient undergoing the arthroscopic knee surgery is positioned so that their lower leg hangs off of the end of the operating table, such as the position depicted in FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,604. However, today, many surgeons prefer to conduct such surgery with the patient in a supine position. The supine position exacerbates the aforementioned fluid collection problems, and the problems found in the pouches in the prior art.